Former Security Minister Gen. Elly Tumwine first shunned proposals by personal doctors to travel to Kenyan Capital, Nairobi to receive treatment as his health deteriorated in June 2022.
The historical that fired the first bullet which sparked off the NRA revolution, lost the battle to cancel on 25th August at 5:45am at Agha Khan hospital where had been receiving treatment for close to 2 weeks.
Dr Abraham Omonding, a senior medic at Cancer Institute in Mulago told mourners at Kololo grounds on Monday that the revered UPDF officer learnt that he had cancer in 2020.
He kept receiving treatment at the cancer unit in Mulago for two years until last June when he became weak and required a major diagnosis and it later indicated that he had developed cancer of the lungs which is not caused by smoking.
While summarizing the medical report, Dr Omoding told the nation that Tumwine was airlifted from Nakasero Hospital to Nairobi because many of his internal organs like kidney, liver, intestines had started collapsing resulting into severe infection in the abdomen.
But because the departed combatant loved his country- Uganda he, on several occasions rejected proposals to be flown to Nairobi.
“He always insisted that he gets all his treatment in Uganda ,” Dr Omoding said.
Further, medics explained because he developed volvulus a medical condition which causes a loop of intestine twists around itself and the mesentery that supports it, resulting in bowel obstruction.
To the doctors, any sickness that gets in the way of the mesentery is detrimental given that the mesentery is a vital organ that attaches the intestines to the posterior abdominal wall in humans.
Tumwine will be buried on Tuesday at his upcountry home in Rwemikoma, Kazo, Kiruhura district.